Fastener anchoring gun



Nov. 21, 1961 w. F. TIBBETTS 3,009,598

FASTENER ANCHORING GUN Filed Feb. 5, 1959 2 Sheets -Sheet 2 g 4r 3. a.

United States Patent 3,009,598 FASTENER ANCHORING GUN Willis F.Tibbetts, Reading, Mass., assignor to Flightex Fabrics, Inc, Providence,12.1., and Everett, Mass, a corporation of Rhode Isiand Filed Feb. 5,1959, Ser. No. 791,484 3 Claims. (Cl. 218-39) The present inventionrelates to guns for use in anchoring fasteners of the type comprising aflanged, hollow body for entry into a hole in a wall member and with itsflange in contact with a surface thereof.

Fasteners of that type are widely used, although difficulty has beenexperienced in anchoring them in place. Such anchoring is effected bybulging each socket against the surface of the wall member opposite tothat which its flange engages. It will be apparent that the mechanismentrant of the socket is small in relation to the mechanical advantagerequired to upset the metal wall of the socket and that, in addition,small variations in wall thicknesses or in the size of the holes affectthe bulging operation.

The objectiveof this invention is to provide a gun of maximumefiectivenessin anchoring fasteners of this type and affording itsusersmaximum ease and convenience in use. This general objective is attainedby means of a gun provided with a sleeve having a rearwardshoulder andits front part dimensioned to fit within the fastener body and providedwith forwardly and outwardly inclined apertures defining slideways. Awork engaging element has a shoulder engageable by the sleeve shoulderand a forwardly opening bore through which the sleeve front partextends. An actuator is slidable within the sleeve and has a taperinghead. The gun includes elements, one for each slideway and slidablyretained therein and seated against the actuator head. The elements aredimensioned to protrude into a fastener body bulging position in aforward position of the actuator and to have a retracted position inwhich their free ends are spaced to permit entry of the sleeve into thefastener body when the actuator is in a rearward position. Such movementof the actuator is effected by lever actuated means.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanyingdrawings which, with the following description thereof, will enablethese and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages to befully ap preciated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a gun for bulging fasteners;

FIG. 2 is a sectioned side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section, on an increased scale, ofthe muzzle portion of the gun with the exposed end of its sleeve withina fastener;

FIG. 4 is a like view with the parts in their fastener bulgingpositions;

FIG. 5 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 5-5 ofPEG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section of its muzzle portion of afastener bulging gun illustrating another embodiment of the invention,and

FIG. 7 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 7-7 ofFIG. 6.

In accordance with the invention, a fastener bulging gun includes a mainpart or receiver 10 and a hollow hand grip 11 of the pistol type. Thereceiver 10 has a sleeve 12 internally threaded to receive the flangedend 13 of a barrel 14. The muzzle end 15 of the barrel 14 is threaded toreceive a work engaging cap 16.

The main part It has a cavity or chamber 17 opening through its underside to receive the lever 18 which is shown as mounted on a pivot 19.The lever 18 has a portion 20 connected by a pivot 21 to a link 22pivoted as at 23 to the rear end of an actuator 24 slidable within thebarrel 14 to provide a lever actuated toggle for driving the actuator 24forwardly with adequate mechanical advantage. The rearward position ofthe lever 18 is established by a stop 25 threaded through a boss 26within the hand grip 11 and shown as having a kerf 27 engageable througha port 28 in the rear wall thereof.

The actuator 24 has a shoulder 29 adjacent its rear end against which isseated one end of a coiled compression spring 30 whose other end isseated against a shoulder 31 located adjacent the muzzle end of thebarrel 14 so that it is operative to yieldably urge the controlled meansinto a position in which the trigger 18 is swung forwardly. The muzzleend 24 of the actuator 24 is of reduced diameter to fit the muzzle bore15- and has a forwardly and inwardly tapering head 32.

A sleeve 33 is dimensioned to fit the hollow fastener body or socket 34shown as positioned in a hole 35 in a Wall member 36 with its flange 37seated against the outer face thereof. The sleeve 33 is also dimensionedto slidably receive the head 32 of the actuator 24 and has a flange 33backed by the muzzle 15 of the barrel 14 and engageable with theshoulder defined by the end wall 39 of the cap 16 which has a port 40through which the socket entering end of the sleeve 33 projects. It willbe noted that the muzzle 15 has an annular flange 4-1 against which thecap end wall 39 or a shim 42, interposed there between, bears. Shims 42are used to decrease the distances between the exposed end of the sleeve33 and the outer face of the cap end wall 39 and the thickness of theshim increases as the thickness of the wall member 36 decreases.

The fastener entering end of the sleeve 33 has a set of forwardly andoutwardly inclined bores 43 defining slide- Ways for slides 44 which areheld in place by resilient retainers 45 with their inner ends seatedagainst the actuator head 32 for movement outwardly into a fastener bodybulging position in a forward position of the actuator 24 and an innerposition in which they permit entry of the sleeve 33 into the fastenerbody 34 in a rearward position of the actuator. It is preferred that thesleeve 32 terminates in a forwardly and inwardly tapering tip 46 tofacilitate entry of the sleeve into the fastener body.

When the lever 18 is rotated, with the sleeve 33 within a socket 34 andthe outer face of the cap 39 seated against the flange 37, the actuator24 is thrust forwardly and the slides 44 are wedged apart with suchoutward move ment deforming or bulging the fastener body 34 against theinner face of the wall 36 sufficiently to lock it in place.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGS. 6 and 7; balls46 are used in place of the slides 44. The balls 46 are mounted inforwardly and outwardly inclined bores 47 in the socket entering end ofa sleeve 48. The balls 46 seat against the tapered head 49 of theactuator 50 and are driven outwardly into socket bulging position onforward movement thereof relative to the sleeve 48. The outward movementof the balls 46 is limited as by a resilient retaining ring 51 confinedin an annular sleeve groove 52. The other details of a bulge gun inaccordance with this embodiment of the invention may be the same asthose of the gun detailed in FIGS. 1 and 2 and its operation is thesame.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a gun for use in bulging the wall of a flanged, hollow bodiedfastener when seated in a hole in a Wall member with its flange incontact with a surface thereof, a sleeve including a rearward flange,the front part of said sleeve being dimensioned to fit within saidfastener body and having forwardly and outwardly inclined aperturesdefining slideways, a work engaging element ineluding a shoulderengageable by said sleeve flange and having a forwardly opening borethrough which said sleeve front part projects, an actuator including aforwardly and inwardly tapering head slidable within said sleeve,slides, one for each slideway and slidably retained therein and seatedagainst said head, said slides being dimensioned to protrude into afastener body bulging position in a forward position of said actuatorand to have their free ends spaced to permit entry of said sleeve intosaid body when said actuator is in a rearward position, and leveractuated means to move said actuator from said rearward to said forwardposition.

2. In a gun for use in bulging the wall of a flanged, hollow bodiedfastener when seated in a hole in a wall member with its flange incontact with a hole surface thereof, a sleeve including a rearwardflange, the front part of said sleeve being dimensioned to fit withinsaid fastener body and having forwardly and outwardly inclined aperturesdefining slideways, a work engaging element including a shoulderengageable by said sleeve flange and having a forwardly opening borethrough which said sleeve front part projects, an actuator including aforwardly and inwardly tapering head slidable within said sleeve,slides, one for each slideway, resilient means within said sleeveyieldably maintaining the inner ends of said slides seated against saidhead, said slides being dimensioned to protrude into a fastener bodybulging position in a forward position of said actuator and to havetheir free ends spaced to permit entry of said sleeve into said bodywhen said actuator is in a rearward position, and lever actuated meansto move said actuator from said rearward to said forward position.

3. In a gun for use in bulging the wall of a flanged,

hollow bodied fastener when seated in a hole in a wall member with itsflange in contact with a surface thereof, a gun barrel, the muzzle endof said barrel including a forwardly disposed stop, a sleeve including arearward flange, the front part of said sleeve being dimensioned to fitwithin said fastener body and having forwardly and outwardly inclinedapertures defining slideways, a work engaging element including ashoulder between which and said muzzle end said sleeve flange is locatedand which has a forwardly opening bore through which said sleeve frontpart projects, said element being threaded on said muzzle end againstsaid stop, an actuator including a forwardly and inwardly tapering headslidable within said sleeve, slides, one for each slideway and slidablyretained therein and seated against said head, said slides being di'mensioned to protrude into a fastener body bulging position in a forwardposition of said actuator and to have their free ends spaced to permitentry of said sleeve into said body when said actuator is in a rearwardposition, and lever actuated means to move said actuator from saidrearward to said forward position.

References (Jited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,840,103 Junkers Ian. 5, 1932 2,341,445 Du Vall Mar. 23, 1943 2,447,909Hunziker Aug. 24, 1948 2,588,907 Coeley Mar. 11, 1952 2,605,011 VolpeJuly 29, 1952 2,626,581 Almgren Ian. 27, 1953

